The truth about a complex built for veterans and the middle class and how it has evolved through the years to become one of the more interesting and controversial of New York stories.

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Management has two priorities: 1) Making sure money is made, hence upgrading and filling up apartments is their goal. "Amenities" are important in selling the place, though few residents use them. 2) If someone needs medical attention, Public Safety will be there, if alerted.

Quality of life issues are not that important, however. Things like the carpet rule or outsider dogs. These "rules" tend to be ignored, on purpose it seems. So you will see a lot that isn't taken care of properly, and complaints will be met with a creative excuse and a smile.

"Peace and quiet" must be a cruel joke, though this property is sold that way. There can be no peace and quiet as ALL apartments must be upgraded, which includes the installation of an AC unit below the window. Aside from the continual construction about the neighborhood, there is a new and noisy subway extension being built along East 14 st and the shut down of the L line. "Choosing" to live in NYC, now the newest mantra, is a fabrication when the talk is of ST and PCV, which was traditionally quiet, with no construction noise.

Though money was always important, it is now more important than ever. Money rules many things, as you will find.

At this point, 30 years into living here and seeing many things, I can state that Management and their reps are BS-ing us. I can't say that loudly enough: We are being BS-ed. I don't see any genuine change, though the "selling" of this place is intense. Few of the "rules" will be enforced, as Management doesn't want to lose customers or potential customers. Where personal integrity is a hallmark of an excellent management style, this integrity is not seen in enforcing some of the rules.

About those "club cars" we see going this way and that way, and outside of Stuy Town or Peter Cooper Village:

Monday, May 1, 2017

Report: May 1, 2017

Just a moment ago, I heard the loud sound of a lawnmower cutting the grass
in front of one of the buildings. Which brings me to talk about noise, firstly:

As you know, this property is all about noise. Thankfully, I live in a relatively
quiet apartment with only the occasional click-click of high heels above me.
And, yes, I've gone upstairs. For me, it could be far worse, as my former,
former tenants (all guys this time) would come in at all hours of the night and
made sure that their neighbors heard it. They even laughed about the noise they
were making. They didn't care.

So noise, of the apartment kind, is variable. You can luck out or go through
hell. And all AirBnb should have adequate carpeting per one's lease. As far as
Public Safety goes, reports are that their response is variable, too. You may
get a PS officer coming over, but by the time he comes over the noise could be
gone. The rule is that a neighbor's noise has to be distracting inside your
apartment, so expect a visit from PS.

I did call PS recently for another complaint and they did come over
and listen to a visiting dog left alone in an apartment and barking away
perpetually.

But there is another noise: the noise of apartments getting "refurbishes,"
which includes the new placement of an air conditioning unit. This necessitates
a good amount of drilling. Look around, there are few apartments that have this
new unit below the window. This refurbishing will never stop. The noise created
is just tough luck for the other tenants. Blackstone, the owners of this place,
has to keep on going and drilling.

This leads me to Blackstone. I don't consider Blackstone my enemy. They have
a job to do and so they are doing it. And I have contact information for
Blackstone on my front page, and I will have more. That said, I've found
Blackstone not as responsive as I would like. I'm being nice when I write that.

On March 27th, I emailed Nadeem Meghji of
Blackstone (meghji@blackstone.com), providing links to
a few pages on the TA and my blog that I had hoped would be convincing.
Mr. Meghji was very nice and friendly to us at the tenant meeting when
Blackstone got this place. I got zero response, however, so I emailed April
5th the big boss and CEO at Schwarzman@blackstone.com.Almost immediately, I got a response from Paula Chirhart at
Paula.Chirhart@Blackstone.com, who told me that she works with the public
affairs team and closely with the Stuy Town team. She promised to discuss my
concerns with the internal team. I have not heard again from Ms. Chirhart, but
I assumed something was said to the internal team.

Regarding lanyards, which per rule of over a year ago
will have non-lanyard people walked of the property (don’t laugh; that is what
is said), I have phoned Rick Hayduk once, no response, and I phoned twice last
week Jonathan Foux, the director of marketing at Stuy Town. No response,
either. I did the latter after I saw big photos outside the leasing office
proclaiming Stuy Town with these photos that go against or ignore the carpeting
rule. The receptionist inside the leasing office was nice, but instantly cold
when she found out what my issue was. I could have died right then and there,
and she would have done nothing.

Incidentally, before this, I spent a very frustrating
time on the phone talking to two PS officers, who insisted that the lanyard
rule was being enforced and that I didn't know what went on with the monitors
who followed the non-lanyard people. To say that blood was shooting from eyes
after this conversation is not far from the truth.

So far I have been at three of the 13 precinct meetings
for neighbors in the area. The chief of PS has been at all three, and Rick at
one. I presented photos which showed the ice cream truck on the corner of 1st
and 14 Street, this after calling 311 got me no place fast. Sometimes the truck
is there, sometimes it is not. I don't know how the truck can be blocking the corner view and have its engine running and
stinking up the place, but this has happened and I'm not satisfied with the 311
response.

I continually see bicycle riding around the Oval and
non-lanyard dogs being walked, even by dog-owners who live in this property. I
will always admit when I see differently. I have seen PS around the Oval, but
not all the time and sometimes it takes a long, long while for one to show up,
if ever when you are there. I have seen PS stop a bicyclist, usually a delivery
person but this very infrequently. Typically to do that there are two PS
officers. My assumption is that they do not "harass" residents, but
just the Mexican or Asian delivery people. Again, very infrequently. And I have
seen PS officers give parking tickets every week or so around the loops.

This is just a report. I’ve not given up (fat chance of that happening) and will pursue
this, and other concerns, in the months to come. I've said this before and it
is important: Believe what you see and not what they (Management or PS) tell
you, as they are good at avoidance and telling half-truths. You know the truth.
I'm not saying that they are lying, but they have a job to do. Your job is different.

Oh, in two different places I've seen two dog turds not picked up. Also a confused bicycle rider go around the Oval, nearly in front of our Chief of Public Safety. (Hi, Chief!) Just another day at Stuy Town.

12:00You need to reread your lease. Although it does not specify AirBnB by name, there is lengthy information about the sublet process. Also, I love how tenants think that the owner would be ok with a tenant making money off of the owners property. Imagine you owned a house and you rented out your basement to someone who then rented out your basement to hoards of other people and was making money off of your property.

Oh, and it's illegal in NYC, so doesn't matter what the lease does or does not say.

As I posted at the TA FB page, If you don't believe me, call Legal/Leasing or even better, stop by the "Bunker" and ask to speak to Legal/Leasing there and they will confirm my statement. Using the Airbnb platform is also in violation of NYS RS law as well. Airbnb destroys affordable housing everywhere it goes. Don't fall for their disingenuous heavy media campaign that this is all "Moms and Pops" using their platform to supplement their income, this is all major broker activity here in the Stuy. Nobody here wants to live in a dorm. And nobody here wants to live in a motel.

It is illegal citywide to rent out your apartment on AirBnb for less than 30 days.And if you rent it for more than 30 days, that's now a sublet and must be reported to management and approved by management.

"And if you rent it for more than 30 days, that's now a sublet and must be reported to management and approved by management."

And subletting is regulated by NYS RS (DHCR) law for currently (unil 6/2020) ALL PCVST apartments. Using Airbnb, one goes around management and is therefore illegal. Why do you think Airbnb refused to program their platform with PCVST addresses so that the advertisements would be rejected? The excuse they used was that they only provide "the platform", what the “host” does re legality is their business.

All of these companies connected with StuyTown are paid by Airbnb to promote Airbnb Hotels and Corporate Housing Subleasing:James Capalino Capalino & Co Lobbyist (Mayor de Blasio long time close friend)Berlin Rosen (Dan Garodnick Tenant Association and Blackstone PR firm)Bolton St John (Andrew Cuomo Chief of Staff's family lobbying firm)Hilltop Public Relations (Mayor de Blasio Agent of the City Bill Hyers)

"Plenty of people here live in a dorm and in what is the next best thing to a motel. Who are you referring to when you say "Nobody here ....?"

I am referring to anyone who has any NYC apartment housing sense-the vast majority of posters here at STR. The NYU/Parsons/New School/Children of the Corn/Lord of the Flies/Tourist/Rube crowd? Well, as Mel Brooks once wrote, “Well, talk about bad taste!."

Perhaps it is just my perspective, but it seems as if this property, and I'm thinking of the Oval area, has never been as populated as now. I understand that for Blackstone this is wonderful, but the amount of people, on a good day, can be overwhelming. A lot of people mean more stress (a fact that is provable), and while Blackstone smiles, your average tenant who has seen this property years ago, may not be smiling.

I wonder if I'm just too sensitive on this issue or if the extra tenant count can be witnessed and felt.

STR, I am so appreciative of the work you do for this community. You are a voice for the voiceless, seeing as we have no TA that is willing to be our voice.

With that being said, I am beginning to come to the realization that all this hard work you do is for nothing. Between your blog, various Facebook group posts, and Yelp, the issues facing this once great community are being blatantly ignored by management. They can't play the "we didn't know" card because they know exactly what the gripes are and have done absolutely nothing to remedy them.

Rick thinks that being a good communicator can make tenants forget the real problems at hand, and it does work with some people, but not most. I have a few questions for Rick from those of us that are not oblivious to the daily problems we face:

1) There has been absolutely no communication from you since your reactive email about the assault on the property over 2 months ago. What did you "security consultants" find? What is being done to make sure another incident like this doesn't happen again? As someone that comes home from work late at night, there definitely has not been an increase in boots on the ground at night. If anything, there is less security! How many people have used that late night security escort? My guess is none. Like I initially said, Rick was just going to wait this out until the masses forgot about it.

2) Why do you continue to blatantly lie to us about the status of AirBnB and short term rentals on the property? The response is always that your office is looking into these "lease violators," but we all know you aren't. If you are, why are there apartments continuing to pop up on the website on a daily basis? Why is it that tenants need to keep pointing this out in Facebook posts? Either your staff is horrible at researching these violators or they aren't and you are giving us lip service. I think it's the later.

3) Be honest with us - are quality of life issues at the bottom of the totem pole in terms of management priorities? How many apartments are actually in compliance with the 80% carpet coverage lease term? Why does security take forever to show up for a noise complaint? Again, we are not stupid.

Rick, in my eyes you are no different than our "esteemed" councilman and our inept TA. Great at giving lip service but doing nothing of real substance for the 30,000 tenants you are supposed to serve.

May 1, 2017 at 9:53 PM You can add BlackRock to that list. Tishman Speyer partner BlackRock is the largest investor in Airbnb (via Sequoia). BlackRock makes big bucks off of their Airbnb investment which is projected to make huge returns from StuyTown converted short term housing market via Airbnb.

Airbnb was and is still a part of the business plan by all of the condo conversion groups including Brookfield (also a Tishman partner in real estate deals). When Garodnick partnered tenants with Brookfield, he partnered StuyTown Tenants with Brookfield's partner Tishman Speyer and Tishman Speyer's partner BlackRock and Airbnb.

10:11You can not make money off your apartment, period. AirBnB is illegal in all Stuy Town apartments. The only legal way to do this is to have someone go through the legal sublet process with the Legal Department.

STR - One reason the Oval has more people in it now is that the population of PCVST has ballooned due to the chopping up of apartments and the packing of additional people into them. We now have thousands of people living here who we didn't use to have, which strains the property's infrastructure and facilities. If/when things deteriorate so much that the buildings need to come down, Blackstone will be delighted and will benefit enormously. No matter what they do, they really can't lose here. Very clever of them, don't you think?

The tenant count is indeed exploding. It is likely due to the cramming of several people into apartments and transient visitors we get here including air bnb. The place looks more and more like a dump.

I have to confess, I am not always fully awake when I go out to work in the morning and I rarely pay attention to the banners hanging on the lampposts. Well while walking this morning, not fully cognizant I walked by one of the banners and was confused for a minute. All the text said was 24/7. After a couple of seconds it dawned on me that it was a picture of Campus Safety walking into the Campus Safety Office. I guess that is supposed to make us feel safe. I burst out laughing and continued walking now fully awake.

"Perhaps it is just my perspective, but it seems as if this property, and I'm thinking of the Oval area, has never been as populated as now."

Correct. With the dormfication (and not just students-post college millennials as well) of PCVST in full swing, many of these apartments have over the 3 unrelated adult legal NYC limit and, during the weekends, swell to 5, 6 with unrelated adult "guests" as well. AirBnb* adds to that as well. I'd guess we have at least 35,000 people here on weekdays, another couple of 1,000 more in addition to on weekends. After all, the EV is to the place to party (or as it has now become "Murray Hill South") and market to. That 25,000 headcount amount you see thrown around is totally dated, even CWC admitted to 30,000.

*Again illegal under 30 days, over 30 days, whether you are in the residence or not, because here in PCVST, it’s not just the NYS law recently signed by Cuomo (see links) that impacts all NYC apartments but because here, in addition, there is NYS RS law for all PCVST apartments and your restrictive SPS lease. Again, contact Legal/Leasing.

Thank you for very accurate report about noise within buildings and outside. Regarding noise in buildings...the deafening and cringeworthy sounds of door hinges whaling for oil eminates from a voluminous amount of doors to apartments and within apartments on multiple floors of building. Does maintenance decidedly ignore piercing noise...even to door to stairwell abutting maintenance room?

Maybe if security left window of rav 4 cracked open rather than listening to ball game on radio ignorant of excessive noise in Oval the new scream at top pitch game some kids play after school lately (just yesterday also) might prove interruptive and stressful enough to get the officers away from the lull of their radios and cell phone conversations and address one of the variables causing excessive Oval noise

>>Rick, in my eyes you are no different than our "esteemed" councilman and our inept TA. Great at giving lip service but doing nothing of real substance for the 30,000 tenants you are supposed to serve.<<

Rick, I think, is an expert BS-er. I say that with goodness in my heart. Some things he does well and dazzles certain tenants; on other things he must shrug his shoulders and walk away. Blackstone seems pleased.

Oh, btw... Seen, again, a bicycle riding around the Oval. The was a PS officer inside the booth. You think he stepped out? You know the answer. "All okay, Chief!"

And I should mention smell as I don't have odor-rama on this blog. Depending were you are the dog urine smell can get to you. I thought this place was all about "fresh air"? That is if you believe the hanging plastic signs.

10:11You can not make money off your apartment, period. AirBnB is illegal in all Stuy Town apartments. The only legal way to do this is to have someone go through the legal sublet process with the Legal Department.

Yes, Rick is an expert BSer. And some of the older tenants love him. He is very useful to the higher-ups at Blackstone, because he pacifies the tenants who believe his schtick. Still nothing changes here.

There are WAY too many people living here now. Looks like Central Park.Don't feel comfortable living here anymore. I am going to start to look elsewhere.This place is only getting to get worse. See Yaa!!

May 1, 2017 at 9:53 PM You can add the Viverito City Council to that list too. Airbnb paid the city council millions of dollars for over 5 years now. Which City Councilpersons were paid? Was Councilperson Garodnick? What were they paid to do? What did they do with the money?

Look, Zipcar has been in StuyTown since 2004. Zipcar founder is in business with Brookfield Real Estate Fund who has been doing business on the property for a lot longer than they admit and still are. This is the dirtiest real estate deal in the history of the State. Doesn't matter who the talking head is, all the real estate corporations are in bed with each other. Brookfield real estate fund is nothing more than a fund filled with about 15,000 real estate brokers that are churning and turning this community into a commodity. Airbnb, Zipcar, all the Tishman partners are operating this property.

I am not happy living here anymore and I cannot afford to live anywhere else. People around here are very unfriendly. Nobody holds doors for anyone nor do they make any eye contact with you in the elevator.

Rick Hayduk is all talk and no action. PS doesn't enforce the rules because management doesn't care. Really, there is no management here. We have rent collectors and some maintenance workers, but no management.

I'm born and raised here, and I've always been very polite to everyone I encounter on the property. For the most part that has always been reciprocated, even to this day. My feelings don't get hurt if someone ignores me if I say hello or goodbye, that's on them as far as I'm concerned. If someone were straight out mean or nasty to me, then it would be a different story. I'd like to think people (not just here, but in general) don't go out of their way to be nasty.

We really shouldn't refer to Blackstone Rick and his crew as management, or maintenance or public safety or customer service since they don't really do those things. We should call Rick and his crew what they are...rent collectors...nothing more, nothing less. They are like the tax collectors in the old testament...vile, wretched creatures preying on people to try and quench their greed. Modern day gangsta's!!!

I've lived here for 40 years and I find that people are pretty much the same as far as manners go. Some of the older tenants have always been unfriendly and others have been always very pleasant. The younger folk today are usually in a world of their own, reading their phones and have head sets on. If you happen to speak to them, they usually respond with a smile and pull one ear bud out. LOL. It's just the way it is with the younger generation, but they are not mean. At least, in my experiences, they are not mean or unfriendly.

Know why nobody looks at me? Because there are soo many people moving in and out of this place, nobody knows who anyone is anymore! Dorm and AIR B and B , or whatever it is called, have virtually DESTROYED this place! DESTROYED THIS PLACE!

"Know why nobody looks at me? Because there are soo many people moving in and out of this place, nobody knows who anyone is anymore! Dorm and AIR B and B , or whatever it is called, have virtually DESTROYED this place! DESTROYED THIS PLACE!"

Four Blackstone or Management folks near the Oval, yukking it up big time as they pointed to the Oval. One had a pad and paper. Expect more changes. Any area that is devoid of making money is a potential victim.

I am a property management professional that happens to live in the property, and earlier today I was at a landlord/property manager symposium that deals with a lot of the issues that go on here. Obviously the problems are the same wherever you go (crappy laundry, pot smokers, noise, pets, etc.), but they are just on a much larger scale here. I wont go into details, since they were generally boring, other than one topic that was discussed at length - AirBnB.

What I heard sheds a lot of light on the seemingly endless number of AirBnB postings that have been popping up on the property. From what it seems, landlords/owners are working diligently to remove lease violators who use the website, but it is not as easy to remove the violators as one might think. Although it is against NYS RS law, the landlord attorney that spoke said that she wont even present an eviction case to a judge without a minimum of 6 months of consistent use on the website and actual proof (photos, video, private investigators). If the evidence isn't solid and proven for an extended period, the landlord probably wont win.

If what the attorney said is true, management should have no problem getting rid of the people turning their apartments into an AirBnB business, but it would probably not be worth their time or money to go after a person that uses it every now and then while they are away. All of this baffles me since we are talking about something that is illegal, but it does explain why we continue to see apartments on the property showing up on AirBnB.

I guess the real question is to what extent management is involved in using the website to make money off vacant apartments.

>>Although it is against NYS RS law, the landlord attorney that spoke said that she wont even present an eviction case to a judge without a minimum of 6 months of consistent use on the website and actual proof (photos, video, private investigators). If the evidence isn't solid and proven for an extended period, the landlord probably wont win.<<

Now I have seen everything in this PigSty. Today walking into the development from 14th and A two girls were sharing a joint. Of course there was no PS officer around. Probably would not matter anyway. Anything goes here and they are getting bolder and bolder.

So back at the beginning of April Blackstone secured an additional $150 million loan from Wells Fargo for the property. Since we know it isn't going towards property improvements or public safety salaries, any speculation why the loan might be needed? Buyouts?https://www.google.com/amp/s/therealdeal.com/2017/03/31/blackstone-ivanhoe-lock-in-additional-150m-for-stuy-town/amp/

It is too beautiful of a day to spend around here and get angry. It seems if you spend morning time in the Oval, you are bound to "see" or "hear" things... By hear I mean the blowers at the basketball playground between Oval Study and Five Stuy Cafe, not to mention the zambonis... One could hear them even a good distance away. Hopeful of a few moments of quiet time, I made the mistake of sitting near the playground I usually don't go to, the one at the corner of Stuy Town, near 1st Ave. Little did I know this area was used by "visitors" and their dogs. Of course, they were not stopped or followed by PS. A free for all. Thank you, Rick. Thank you, PS.

One visitor, though maybe he was a resident, did not have a lanyard, of course. Not a problem for me at that point, but his two dogs decided to defecate or urinate near to me. I showed him and his dogs that he should move away and was called an asshole. Being me, I called him an asshole back and a few other choice words, New York style. I don't understand people who have no sense of what is wrong. Air heads.

Later, the "suits," with Rick leading the way, were at the Oval. Yeah, change is coming. Again and again.

"In addition, the city supplied Blackstone with $144 million, which was a loan in name only since the firm won’t be required to pay it back. The $144 million is equal to the transfer tax Blackstone paid on the deal, which was valued at $5.46 billion."

Illegal. These delivery guys tend to have no identification on their back to tell you what restaurant they are from. They were particularly mentioned in the 13th Precinct meeting. Unfortunately, there is not a simple way to catch them, but if you know the restaurant, report it to the 13th Precinct.

Why shouldn't we older tenants despise Management when Management allows kamakazi bicycle delivery guys to speed around the property with no regard for life or limb, especially of the elderly. How would Rick feel if one of his daughters couldn't get out of the way of one of these assholes in time not to get hit?

STPCV prides itself on being separated from the city and subject to the "rules" (a private property). The city can make rules, but Blackstone has to enforce their own rules here. They are clearly not doing that.

Until There Is Silence No More

The Tenants Association and our councilman Dan Garodnick have mysteriously remained silent about a purported incident that occurred on July 12: the mugging by a group of individuals of someone right by Peter Cooper Village, along 20th Street.

The TA is basically done. Tenants can complain, but any action is negligible. The TA is effectively dead.

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"We'll be introducing a new process to identify registered dogs thus enabling Public Safety Officers to clearly approach offending dog owners. The registration will hang from the leash handle; clearly identifying the dog as registered.

"If the dog is not registered by May 1; a summons will be issued at the point of contact. If we learn the dog owner is not a resident, they will be escorted off the property."

Rick Hayduk, CEO and General Manager of PCVST. Letter to Barry Shapiro, February 2016.

STR here: I have been around since the inception of this dog policy and I have NEVER seen anyone escorted out of ST or PCV with their non-lanyard dog. But I have seen, many times, a dog owner from outside, and his/her dog, casually walking through ST or PCV.

THINKING of Renting in PCVST?

Read Yelp reviews to find out what it's like living here. Please note: All apartments are currently "rent-stabilized" but that doesn't prevent apartments from going up to 4K to 6K a month and even higher. How does this happen? Ask our politicians! Fact: Now less than half of the complex's apartments have the old rents and it's getting worse year by year--or better if you are the Real Estate Board of New York!

The Other Yelp Reviews

Yelp can be tricky and bounce reviews for a variety of reasons, like being a member and posting just one review. Very often, however, these reviews hold important truths about what's being reviewed. READ THESE TOO.

BICYCLES, MOPEDS, SCOOTERS, ETC.

Of course, "private property" but "public access" - whatever that means! And if a part of it is public access, do the rules of the city apply to our roads and sidewalks? Or does anything give because this complex is "private property"? Who comes here in case of a fire in one of our buildings? The Stuy Town Fire Brigade?

Hint: Look both ways if you are in the complex. Look on the ground, too!

61.03 Control of dogs and other animals to prevent nuisance. (a) A person who owns, possesses or controls a dog, cat or other animal shall not permit the animal to commit a nuisance on a sidewalk of any public place, on a floor, wall, stairway, sidewalk, lawn, garden or roof of any public or private premises used in common by the public, or on a fence, wall [or], stairway or entranceway of a building abutting on a public place

Banned & Oversize Dog Breeds in Stuy Town

Looks like there is some difficulty in enforcing the ban on certain dog breeds allowed inside Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village. Somehow pitbulls and pitbull mixes have been registered in STPCV and are allowed to be freely walked about the grounds! Registered dogs in the complex are max 50 pounds. Total, if there is more than one! More than two, it's illegal. It's going to get worse, and, face it, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village will never be like it once was.

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Read it and Weep

Current Value of ST/PCV

Was 5.4 Billion Dollars when Tishman Speyer bought the place.Became 1.7 Billion Dollars when Tishman Speyer left, with their tail between their legs. Of course, tenants now have to make up the loss.

Ex-landlord

Rob Speyer

1947 Stuy Town Plaque Honoring Met Life Chairman F.H. Ecker (Removed in 2002 and never seen again)

"... who with the vision of experience and the energy of youth conceived and brought into being this project, and others like it, that families of moderate means might live in health, comfort and dignity in park-like communities and that a pattern might be set of private enterprise productively devoted to public service."

I am writing on behalf of everyone at Tishman Speyer to express how honored we are to become part of your outstanding community. We are a business with deep roots in New York, a true love of our city and a great respect for the neighborhoods that make it special. We are committed to maintaining the unique character and environment that have made Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town such a wonderful place to live for so long. We look forward to providing you an extraordinary level of service and attentiveness that will be the source of pride and satisfaction for the entire community.

Neighborhood Recommendations

New to Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village? Here are some basic recommendations.

Best supermarket: Associated on 14th St. between 1st Ave. and Ave A. The cheapest prices, fantastic weekly sales, very affordable lunches; solid, responsive management, but earthy. Some of the young female cashiers have attitude to spare, though. May be too far for Peter Cooper residents.

Best gym: Don't waste your money on the Oval Fitness Gym. Instead go to the earthy but real Asser Levy Recreational Center, right above 23rd St on Asser Levy Place (near the FDR Drive). $75 for a year's membership; seniors are almost free. Contains seasonal indoor and outdoor swimming pools, ping-pong table, two pool tables. Called by some rich people who wouldn't get caught going there "the prison gym," and you know why.

A Stuy Town favorite is Lenz's on 20 St. between the 20 St. Loop. The way New York used to be. Be careful of unwanted "pepper" in your food, however. Lenz's got a B grade rating and was temporarily closed down due to an order from the Health Department. Bruno's on First Avenue is more upscale, with a greater selection of food items (higher-priced, too), but was closed down temporarily by the Health Department. Stuy Town's own cafe was closed, too! And not because of all the dogs that hover and piss outside.

Gracefully has two locations, but we prefer for its size the one on 1st Ave. Prices are high and reflect the new tenants that are currently renting Stuy Town and Peter Cooper apartments. ("Do you have a credit card?") We like Gracefully's lunch specials, which are somewhat affordable.

I priced the CVS on 1st Ave near 14st. The non-aerosol hairspray was 20 cents above CVS' own website price, and one of the highest in NY. (Yes, I have hair.) You can save at least a dollar or more buying at another place. So beware. Look around for a better deal on all your items.

I love warm Quaker Oats in the morning. Gristedes is not the place to get it, nor is Associated, though their price is less. Look around!

Macular Degeneration Support Group

If you are currently diagnosed with Macular Degeneration, the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary is offering a support group for you. Conveniently located next to the Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town apartment complex, our group offers the opportunity to share stories with other members, listen to expert guest speakers, and learn coping strategies to reduce stress. Our group runs on the first Wednesday of every month and we would enjoy seeing you there.
Please contact Baptiste Nicolas, Social Work Assistant at 212-979-4105 for further information and to see if this group is right for you!